Walk To Raise Funds To Benefit Alzheimer’s Research

Butler County Community College on Saturday will host a Walk to End Alzheimer’s and next week will stage an award-winning play about dementia to raise money for the care and support of patients, and to fund research into the sixth-leading cause of death in the United States, according to the Alzheimer’s Association.

“This disease is devastating and the numbers of those affected continue to grow exponentially,” said Brittany Coulter, constituent events manager of the Alzheimer’s Association Greater Pennsylvania Chapter. “Any opportunity we have to raise awareness for this disease helps us get closer to finding the first survivor.”

About 5 million Americans have Alzheimer’s disease, which, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is a progressive illness “beginning with mild memory loss, possibly leading to loss of the ability to carry on a conversation and respond to the environment.”

Registration for the Walk to End Alzheimer’s begins at 9 a.m.Saturday, Sept. 15, 2018 on BC3’s main campus in Butler Township. Team BC3 participants will walk two miles on the Shaffer Walking Trail beginning at 10:30 a.m., according to Sherri Osborne, BC3’s assistant director of student activities.

“It is important that we find a cure,” Osborne said, adding that BC3’s student activities office is sponsoring the walk. “Alzheimer’s disease not only affects patients, but the people who care for them on a daily basis.”

Team BC3 will present a check to the Alzheimer’s Association following the walk, Osborne said.

More than 16 million Americans provide unpaid care for patients with Alzheimer’s disease or other dementias, according to the Alzheimer’s Association.

For information on how to donate to Team BC3 prior to the Walk to End Alzheimer’s, email Osborne at sherri.osborne@bc3.edu.